Christmas is a time for family, which by extension makes it a period for sitting back and watching a lot of movies and TV. Maybe thats why Sony released The Interview on Christmas Day. That controversial flick will set you back $6 to rent or $12 to buy (unless you join the legions torrenting it), but the folks at Popcorn Time believe you should be able to watch what you like for free and now theyve added a VPN to the streaming service which isHollywoods worstnightmare.
Popcorn Time, for those whoarent aware, is a servicethat lets you streama tonne of top films and TV shows to your computer for free. It uses unlicensed torrents on the internet forcontent, which naturallyraises a gamut of legal issues. The original service closed down earlier this year in response to those questions, but a number of anonymous groups resurrected theproject, the most notable of which is probablyPopcorntime.io, whichadded an optional VPN to itsdesktop service today.
VPNs, which essentially route a devices internet through a different country, are seen as an important addition to Popcorn Time. Some usersin Germany were fined for using Popcorn Time earlier this year, so a VPN could help movie fans avoid repercussions for their borderline-legal viewing activity which we at TechCrunch do not condone, by the way.
Weve seen VPNs in Popcorn Time before another groupadded a free one to its service in Junebut Popcorntime.ios promises to be more robustsinceit isrun by VPN.ht.
Mega caveat though, users will have to pay for it.
VPN.ht is priced at $4.99 per month, butPopcorntime.io users can get it for $1 for the first month after which they can cancel. Alternatively they can pay $3.99 per month on a yearly deal.
Currently in Alpha, the addition is all well and good, but we cant help thinking that there are some issues. The cost of free is a primary appeal ofPopcorn Time, thus it is unclearwhethermany users willpony up $30-plus for a VPN service, even though itmay be beneficial to them.
Thoselikely to use VPNs have probably already bought them.Anecdotally, folks shopping for a VPN tend to take their time and weigh up their options from the crowded field. Integrating with Popcorn Time may well giveVPN.ht an initial sales boost, but Im not sure it will make a sizable difference to the service or Popcorn Times userbase in the long-term.
A freemium option offeringa free first month of use or a limited monthly servicelike Tunnelbear would have been amore impactingaddition for both sides.
VPN.ht does support Bitcoin and a range of payment options, but the fact remains that asking peopleto get their credit cards out even just for a few dollars is enough of barrier to deter many.
Beyond the VPN, Popcorntime.io is also promising to revamp its existing Android app withall kinds of amazing features soon. Youll wantto keep an eye on the project if that sets your Christmas bells aringing.
Featured Image: Mikael Damkier/Shutterstock (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED)Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/25/popcorn-time-vpn/
